Sanal Edamaruku, the founder president of Rationalist International, is facing a blasphemy charge for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Catholics in Mumbai.

Edamaruku had recently claimed that water dripping from a statue of Christ in Mumbai was not God's work but a result of bad plumbing. He also went on to say that the Church was using the miracle for making profit.

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Three complaints have been reportedly filed against the Edamaruku for inciting religious hatred.

The rational thinker earlier told media that the site of the 'miracle' crucifix was thoroughly inspected by him and the source of the water was found to be a leaking toilet drainage.

Following his televised debates on the crucifix, Edamaruku saw FIRs filed against him for 'hurting the religious sentiments' of Christians. He also faces a potential arrest under various sections of IPC.

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Edamaruku, whose association campaigns for scientific reasoning over superstition, welcomed the moves against him as "an opportunity" and said he will also be challenging India's blasphemy law.

The legislation bans "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs".

In March, Edamaruku was contacted by an Indian TV channel and asked to investigate a miracle in Mumbai ... a crucifix in front of the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni. The crucifix had water dripping from the feet of the statue for several days. This water was being given to people to drink and claims of its healing powers had already begun to fly. ...[H]e quickly identified the the source of the water as a drain from a nearby washroom and explained the capillary action that caused the water to reach Jesus’ feet.

In presenting his findings on live TV, he also accused the priests of the church of ‘miracle mongering’ for publicity. The local church leaders quickly filed First Information Reports (FIR) against Edamaruku, accusing him of blasphemy, which is illegal under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code.